Plan for: Thanksgiving | Advent | Christmas
Plan for: Thanksgiving | Advent | Christmas
The sermon explores the enhanced spiritual experience of present-day followers of Christ in the kingdom of God, highlighting the blessings of sin forgiveness, Christian community, the indwelling Holy Spirit, and the beauty of the gospel story.
Do you remember Christmas morning as a kid? Remember the excitement and anticipation? Remember how you longed for that morning to arrive? Christmas was a “someday” soon. And then one morning, the anticipation ended because the day arrived! Christmas was “today!”
There is a sense in the Old Testament of a longing for “someday.” Someday the Messiah will come. Someday God will put everything right. Someday God’s reign on earth will begin. Someday we will be cleansed and forgiven. Someday the captives will be set free. Someday, someday, someday.
Christmas was a “someday” soon. And then one morning, the anticipation ended because the day arrived! Christmas was “today!”
Let’s start by making a few observations about what’s happening here. First, John is in prison and sends his disciples to Jesus. They ask Jesus if he’s the one. (11:2). Jesus responds to their question by listing what he has been doing: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and good news is proclaimed to the poor (11:4-5). Isn’t this amazing stuff!? Isn’t God good? This is the stuff they hoped for and anticipated.
Vengeance is not part of God’s eternal character. God takes no pleasure in the death or suffering of anyone (Ezekiel 18:32). God’s eternal nature is self-giving love, which we see revealed in Christ over and over again, culminating on the cross and resurrection. It’s God’s nature to heal, to forgive, to restore, and to speak good news. Vengeance simply doesn’t square with the God who is revealed in Christ.
Jesus did not come to change God’s mind about us, he came to change our minds about God. It is so easy for us to assign qualities to God that aren’t part of his true character. Here’s a simple way to know what God is like: look at Jesus. Look at the life, the teachings, the ministry, the death, and the resurrection of Jesus. Why? Because Jesus perfectly reveals the Father (John 14:9, Colossians 1:15). They are one in purpose and in character. God is exactly like Jesus. So, if a character quality isn’t Christlike, then it isn’t of God.
And then Jesus launches this zinger: John is the greatest man ever born of a woman, but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is still greater than John (11:11) ... View this full sermon with PRO Premium
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